Il-yong Ju

Il-yong Ju is a North Korean defector who has shared his experiences of celebrating Christmas in a country where the holiday is officially banned. As a child, he and his family, living in a small and isolated village, decorated a tree on December 25, unknowingly embracing a tradition that they did not fully understand due to the suppression of Christianity in North Korea. His family's secret celebrations were influenced by clandestine radio broadcasts from South Korea, which ultimately motivated his father to escape the regime. Ju now resides in Seoul, South Korea, where he openly identifies as a Christian and has spoken to global leaders about the severe persecution faced by believers in North Korea.